We have some problems with a “fluorescent lamp igniter”, the device that turns…

We have some problems with a “fluorescent lamp igniter”, the device that turns on the lamp. I would like to know what is necessary for the fluorescent lamp to turn on?

A fluorescent lamp produces light as the result of an electric discharge that takes place inside the lamp tube. Electrons, emitted from hot filaments at each end of the tube, are pulled through the tube by electric fields and collide violently with mercury atoms inside the tube. These mercury atoms then emit ultraviolet light, which is converted to the visible light you see by the phosphor coating inside the glass tube.

To emit the electrons needed to sustain the discharge, the filaments at each end of the fluorescent tube must be heated. In the “preheat” style of fluorescent lamp, these filaments are heated red-hot for a few seconds by sending current directly through them. There are two pins at each end of the tube and current is sent to the filament through one pin and extracted through the other pin. Once the filaments are hot enough, the lamp turns off this current flow and tries to send current through the tube itself. If the discharge starts, the discharge is able to keep the filaments hot enough to emit electrons continuously. But if the discharge fails to start, the filaments are heated some more to try to release enough electrons to initiate the discharge.

The “igniter’s” job is to preheat the filaments for a few seconds and then to test the main discharge. If you see no red glow from the filaments at each end of the tube or you see no attempt by the igniter to start the main discharge, then the igniter should be replaced. It could also be that the tube itself is bad—that its filaments have burned out. If you see only one end of the tube glowing red or you see the igniter trying repeatedly to start the discharge, the tube is probably bad. I’d suggest replacing both the igniter and the tube and seeing if that fixes the problem. The only other component of the lamp, other than wiring, is the ballast—the device that controls the amount of current flowing through the discharge. It, too, could be bad.

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